Posted by: John Flick

Sunday was the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, and I ran my first half marathon. I truly enjoyed 9.7 miles of it (the half marathon is 13.1 miles).
It was a beautiful day, there were great people and a lot of inspiration. We honored those victims of the bombing and I also ran for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
People lined the course and they were great cheerleaders. It was nice to see the smiling faces. Although at one point I slowed down for what I thought was a water station. There were cups, bottles of clear liquid and a lively group celebrating the race on their front lawn. Turns out that liquid was vodka, and the Bloody Mary mix was nearby. I moved on.
As I approached mile 10 my body gave me subtle hints that it didn't like what I was doing. And by that I mean my legs nearly fell off, my back went into spasms, and I'd lost all feeling in my feet... good times. It might sound corny but I thought of people who've had it a lot worse than me, and I trudged on, one foot in front of the other.
Crossing the finish line was great, not to mention the endless supply of cheeseburgers and chocolate milk handed out by volunteers. It was a great experience and I plan on doing it again. There is a 6 mile option, isn't there?